This startup is betting on fitness events to help people find friends in the AI era - and it just raised $12 million

"Sweatpals, a social fitness and wellness event platform, wants to help people get off their phones and to in-real-life (IRL) experiences where they can meet new friends. "AI is going to build the internet and the online world," Sweatpals CEO Salar Shahini told Business Insider in an interview. "But someone needs to build the offline world - and working out is a very big part of that." Founded in 2022 by Shahini and Mandi Zhou, Sweatpals lets people discover events happening nearby, such as outdoor yoga classes, cold plunge or sauna activities, and group hikes."

"Armed with fresh funding, Sweatpals is expanding into more US markets and developing its product offerings for gyms and studios. The startup exclusively told Business Insider that it raised a $12 million seed round led by venture capital firms Patron, A16z Speedrun, and Kevin Hart's HartBeat Ventures, bringing the startup's total funding to $17.2 million. The round included investments from angels like Instacart cofounder Max Mullen and WndrCo's Jeffrey Katzenberg, and participation from VC funds Antler and Pear."

""We were very competitively trying to win the deal," said Amber Atherton, a partner at Patron, who has been eyeing startups tackling how people socialize in the AI era. "Sweatpals fit very squarely in that thesis area for us: How are people going to make friendships, relationships?""

Founded in 2022 by Salar Shahini and Mandi Zhou, Sweatpals is a social fitness and wellness event platform that helps users discover nearby in-person activities such as outdoor yoga, cold plunges, saunas, and group hikes. Hosts—including individuals, groups, and studios—can run and monetize events while managing ticket sales, memberships, SMS and email marketing, and liability waivers. The company raised a $12 million seed round led by Patron, A16z Speedrun, and HartBeat Ventures, bringing total funding to $17.2 million with angel and VC participation. Sweatpals is expanding into more U.S. markets and building product offerings for gyms and studios. The typical user is a young adult demographic and about 60% are women.

Read at Business Insider